Blood Bonds
by ElejahMikaelson
Summary: An alternate version of what could have gone down in 3x15. Mikael's still alive.
1. Chapter 1

_**This is my first ever attempt at a one-shot and at third-person writing. Please review and tell me if it's any good.**_

**_The story takes place at the same time that Elijah kidnaps Elena to get Stefan and Damon to stop Esther, but rather than Elijah kidnapping Elena this happens. _**

**_Enjoy. _**

**_~ Iz xx_**

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Rebekah sighed and looked around the main room of the mansion, the Doppelgänger - _Elena_ \- had managed to convince her friends to help stop their mother from killing Rebekah and her brothers.

The blonde Originals back straightened and her arms fell to her sides, her eyes flicked around the room, searching wildly, "Bekah?" She looked up at her eldest brother, the one to broker this deal with Elena in the first place, "Where the bloody hell is the Dopplegänger?" Elijah's own eyes widened and he looked desperately around the room, their frantic searching did not go unnoticed by their siblings and the other company present.

Klaus strode over to her and Elijah and raised his eyebrows, Elijah ran a hand through his hair and looked around the room again, "The back-stabbing Doppelgänger's gone." Elijah frowned at his sister, clearly unhappy with the description of Elena and shook his head, "She wouldn't betray us." Rebekah scoffed and ran a hand through her own hair, "She _daggered_ you Elijah. She stabbed _me_ in the back! Quite literally! Why the hell _wouldn't_ she betray us _again_?" Elijah shook his head again and muttered to himself.

Rebekah and Klaus exchanged a glance and Nik placed a hand on Elijah's arm, "None of this matters now Elijah. It's in our own hands to stop our mother, we can deal with Elena's betrayal later." The oldest Original blanched and nodded slightly, Klaus turned to the others in the room, "We can only assume that Elena is working with our mother-"

"She wouldn't betray you again! Your _mother_ probably took her to stop her interfering!" Klaus gritted his teeth and Rebekah saw him clench his fists, in an obvious effort to stop himself ripping the elder Salvatore's heart from his chest, "While that could be the reason, it's safer to assume that Elena had a change of heart." Damon gritted his teeth, but wisely bit his tongue on the matter, "We know that Finn is working with our mother, and while he is one of the oldest of us, he is easy enough to subdue. The problem will be the Bennetts..."

Ten minutes later, they had a plan formulated and left for the location of Esther's spell.

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Elena was greeted by Bonnie and her mother - Abby - when she walked up the old witches house, "You can't convince us to stop Elena, I'm sorry, but they _need_ to die." Elena held up her hands in a mock surrender at Bonnie's words, "Bonnie, Abby, I _swear_, I'm not here to convince _anyone_ to stop, I'm here to help." The mother and daughter nodded and walked back to Esther and Finn with Elena trailing behind.

Finn and Esther tensed momentarily but relaxed when they saw Elena's calm, helpful demeanour. The Original witch inclined her head, "Elena, I did not expect to see you here." Elena gave the witch a small smile and stepped closer, "Just here to help." She nodded and turned back to her lighting of the five pillars around the pentagram.

When all of them were lit Elena took a very slow, very deliberate, step into the pentagram. The fire roared and a gust of wind swept Finn out of the markings, he recovered and ran at Elena, only to be bounced back by an invisible barrier. He snarled at the Doppelgänger, and received only a smug grin in reply.

Esther took a wary step back, only to find that while Finn and the Bennetts could not enter, she could not leave. Elijah ran into the clearing then, followed by Klaus, Rebekah and Kol. Seconds later, the Salvatore brothers and Caroline ran up behind them.

Elena turned away and looked round at one of her best friends, Bonnie shook her head, betrayal evident on her face and yelled at her, "You _swore_ Elena! You said you were here to help!" Elena gave her friend a sad smile and shook her head, meanwhile Caroline was yelling the same thing on her other side.

Elijah tilted his head and took a hesitant step closer to Elena, he glanced past her, at Bonnie and her mother, before turning his attention back to the Doppelgänger in front of him, "What did Elena say Bonnie, her exact words." Bonnies brow furrowed along with that of everyone else's, Elena however only smirked at him, her head cocked at an identical angle as the Originals in front of her, "She said, I swear, I'm not here to convince anyone to stop, I'm here to help."

Elijah chuckled and took a step away from the pentagram, he ran a hand through his hair and recalled her exact agreement with him earlier that day, _I'll be a part of stopping Esther, and you have to promise that neither you, or your family, will harm any of my friends for trying to have you all killed. _Elijah had accepted and assumed that her word choice was simply convenient.

He chuckled again and shook his head, "'Lijah?" He looked up at his little sister and saw her wearing a look of pure confusion along with everyone else. He turned his attention to Elena and smiled at her, "I seem to have underestimated you, _yet again_, lovely Elena." She smiled back at him and tilted her head, "Rather surprising, given it was _you_ I picked this up from." Elijah opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by his youngest brother, "What on _earth_ are the pair of you on about Elijah?"

He turned to Kol and placed his hands back in the pockets of his suit trousers, "Elena has been _very_ careful with her words today?" Niklaus frowned and shook his head, "How is that of any relevance?" Elijah chuckled again, "It's all of relevance Niklaus, if I had listened closer, we would have expected this. Not once in our agreement did Elena specify helping us stop our mother, she only said she would play a part in stopping her, not that Elena would be helping us."

"What about her promise to the witches?" Elijah ran a hand through his hair, leaving the other in his pocket, "Pure genius." Was his simple reply, "She swore she was not here to convince anyone to stop, she isn't. She's here with the intent to stop our mother, not to _convince_ anyone to stop. As for saying she is here to help, she is. Unfortunately for them, Elena never specified _whom_ she was here to help." Elena smiled and nodded, "And they never asked." Klaus let out a laugh now, "Well played love." Elena merely rolled her eyes and turned back to Esther.

"You know Esther, I've been having this...Problem, for a while. Dreams, I guess you could call them. I'd been having them for at least a month," Elena started pacing on one side of the pentagram and Esther on the other, "In these 'dreams' they always started out the same I would meet a young girl, about seventeen, we would become fast friends and I'd meet her brothers, never any parents, just siblings.

"Every night they turned out different, I would always fall for one of the four brothers, every night it was different brother.

"I would fall for him, he would fall for me. We would be happy, then I would wind up dead. _Killed_. Murdered by their vengeful father.

"Eventually Katherine got hold of me, she told me that after meeting your sons, she had the same dreams, they stopped eventually, do you know why they stopped?" Esther took a deep breath and replied, "She turned." Elena grinned and nodded, "She gave me the name of a witch who figured out what the dreams were, lives of people your sons fell in love with, that your husband killed." She heard the gasps of everyone around them and suppressed a smirk, "That night I had a different dream, I met a woman, _Ayanna_." Esther's jaw clenched and Elena grinned in satisfaction, "She told me about Tatia, something I'd always wanted to know, but no-one would tell me a thing..."

"I would've told you, you only had to ask." Elena cocked her head at Elijah and sighed, "How old was Tatia when she died?" He opened his mouth to answer, but closed it without saying anything, open, close, open, close...

"How old was Tatia when you met her Klaus?" Klaus opened his mouth to reply but found himself stuck in the same position as his brother, "She was seventeen when she died, and fifteen when we met her. How do you two not remember?" Elena turned her attention to Kol and smiled, "Thank you Kol." He raised his eyebrows at her but said nothing, "Anyway, she told me about Tatia, and do you know what I found out?" She continued without waiting for anyone to respond, "Not only did you make her blood that of a doppelgänger, the most powerful blood there is, but Tatia, was also a witch.

"So now, you have a line of already powerful witches, with doppelgänger blood in their systems. Meaning you've just gone and created a line of witches even more powerful, than the infamous Bennett witches." Esther's face drained of all colour along with Finns. "How do you keep this a secret though? Your sons would _happily_ tell the doppelgängers about their ancestor, so you put a spell on your children, stopping them from answering questions about the original doppelgänger if they are asked by another doppelgänger. It's quite clever actually. Until it's not, and I find out." Elena took a piece of twine from her pocket and wrapped it around her five fingers individually, then bound them together.

She started chanting and the twine tightened slightly before loosening and unravelling itself, she smiled and picked up a sharp rock. Elena threw it at Kol and it embedded in his side, he grunted and snarled at her, "_Bitch_!" Elijahs eyes widened and he looked at Kol, who was just pulling the rock out of his side, then down at his own side, "It didn't cut us..." His siblings all looked down at their own sides, then back at Kol, who had just healed, before turning their attention to Elena, "You unbound us." She inclined her head at Rebekah and turned her attention back to the Original witch, who was still looking a bit pale.

She glared at Elena before smirking at something behind her. Elena turned to find Elijah being held still with a firm arm around his throat and another hand above his heart, holding one of the White Oak daggers, "You may be some all powerful witch you Doppelgänger wench, but you care about my son. Replace the bond between them or I will kill him right here, right now." Elena faked a yawn and shrugged, "Go ahead, he didn't sire my friend's bloodline, I don't care." She saw the confusion flash across Mikaels face, but it was quickly replaced with anger.

She also saw the betrayal and hurt reflected in Elijahs eyes and had to force herself to remain stone-cold, Elijahs head moved in a minuscule shake and he closed his eyes. Elena could swear she saw a tear slide down his cheek and held her own back. Mikael snarled and pressed the dagger further into his chest, "You are aware these daggers have been spelled to kill, not disable." Elena shrugged again and forced herself not to look away, at Rebekah, crying silently in her older brothers arms, at Klaus, who was obviously fighting back his own tears, at Kol and the look of betrayal, so identical to that of Elijah's, that he was currently showing, or at the bewildered and saddened faces of her friends and her brother - who must have arrived at some point along with Matt and Alaric. She forced herself to keep her eyes cold and expressionless, and focused on Mikael.

He growled and plunged the dagger into Elijah's chest, Rebekah cried out and fought agains her brothers hold, Klaus was visibly shaking with his barely contained anger, even Kol had lost his usual cocky arrogance and Elena saw a single tear roll down his cheek. Elijah gasped and slowly turned grey, Mikael dropped him to the ground and advanced towards Kol.

Elena swept her hand out and pulled Mikael into the pentagram with her and Esther, she threw her hand down and Mikael fell to the floor. Elena muttered another spell and Mikael found himself unable to move. He snarled and cursed at her, but Elena didn't bat an eye. She walked out of the pentagram and towards Elijah's body, Kol's snarled and leapt at her, but found he was still kept away by the protective shield.

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The doppelgänger knelt by the grey, limp body of the Original and lightly brushed a longer piece of his hair away from his closed eyes. Rebekah snarled at her, "You don't deserve to be anywhere near him you bitch! He _trusted_ you, and you let him die!" Elena nodded in acknowledgement and sighed, "I did." She took a grasp on the dagger and pulled it out of Elijah's chest, before standing and walking back to the pentagram. As soon as she was back inside the siblings found they could reach Elijah again.

Rebekah collapsed by his body, sobbing, and pulled his head into her lap, Klaus, Kol and even Finn fell to their knees beside him. The siblings were so caught up in their grief, they didn't notice the colour slowly returning to Elijah's features. Seconds later Elijah gasped and his head flew out of Rebekah's lap as he shot up into a seated position, "Elijah!" Rebekah threw her arms around her brothers neck and embraced him tightly, his arms wound around her automatically and Elijah buried his face in his sisters shoulder.

Mikael growled behind Elena and she turned to face him, "You unspelled the dagger." Esther was glaring at her also, and Elena shook her head sadly, "Do you really take me for someone who would let another die out of cold blood?" Her tone was dejected and it was clear that Elena never wanted to be seen like that, in _anyone's_ eyes. She turned her back on Mikael and Esther and grabbed a small pocket knife out of her pocket along with another piece of twine.

Elena pricked her finger and let a few drops of her blood fall onto the twine, she walked to Esther and took hold of her hand. The needle pricked Esther's finger and Elena let a few more drops of blood fall on the twine. Finally she turned to Mikael and did the same.

Elena wrapped the twine around her hand much like the first time, except this time she only used three fingers. When she started chanting the twine loosened and unwound completely, before slowly winding its way around Elena's hand. It tightened and Elena winced as pain shot through her arm. She finished chanting and pulled the twine off her hand before dropping it to the floor.

She grabbed the dagger that had been used on Elijah and walked over to Mikael, she sliced across his palm and resisted the urge to cry out as an identical mark appeared on her own hand. Esther didn't, and let out a small yell as a cut appeared on her hand.

Someone hit Elena's barrier and pounded at it furiously with their hands, _"Don't you dare!_ Don't you dare Elena Gilbert!" Elena turned and looked at Caroline, she had tears streaming down her cheeks as she pounded on the invisible barrier.

A tear fell from Elena's eye and Bonnie joined Caroline at the border, "Elena, _please_. There's another way, there _has_ to be!" Elena had tears flowing freely down her cheeks now and she shook her head at her friends, "This is the way it has to be Bonnie, I'm sorry." The young witch shook her head furiously and tried to remove the barrier cast around her. The others around them finally caught on to what was happening, Matt and Jeremy hit the border a second later and started yelling along with the girls. The Salvatore's and Alaric could do nothing more than stand and watch with tears making themselves known, even the Originals looked slightly saddened by what Elena was suggesting.

Elijah was on his feet now and stood calmly in front of Elena shaking his head, "Elena, please..." His eyes were watering and his voice broke on the last word, he looked to be a second away from a break down, Elena shook her head before focusing her eyes on something in the distance, "Katherine?" The second everyone's backs were turned she plunged the dagger into her heart, "_Elena_!" It was a desperate and pained cry that escaped his lips. Elijah caught her before she could hit the floor and pulled the dagger from her heart, in the next second Elijah's wrist was at her mouth and his blood flowed into her slightly opened lips.

Elena's eyes were still open, glossy and vacant, Klaus crouched next to his brother and ran a hand over her face to close them. He put a hand on his brothers shoulder, "She's gone Elijah, I'm sorry." Elijah pulled Elena's lifeless body close and rocked her as sobs racked his body.

He laid kiss after kiss on her hair as he cried.

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**_I will freely admit that I cried writing this :'(_**

**_If people say they want it, I have an idea for an epilogue, but it's up to you guys._**

**_\- Iz xx_**


	2. Epilogue

_**Thank you to all you wonderful people who reviewed this story! I'm sorry it's taken me such a long time to write and post this, it was surprisingly hard to figure out where I was starting with this…**_

_**I hope you all enjoy!**_

**ooOoo**

_The young woman sighed softly as she watched her friends standing by the large hole in the ground. She was balanced on a tree branch__,__ a little way above her funeral party. Her friends were truly mourning her death and she was honestly saddened as she watched them. _

_Elena Gilbert brushed away the drop of moisture that threatened to fall. The people around 'her' grave gradually wandered away until only one person remained, knelt beside the grave. She gracefully leapt from her position in the tree, landing several feet behind the man. _

_When she was by his side, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed softly. The vampire sighed softly. _

"_I am fine Rebekah, you've no need to stay." _

_Elena didn't say anything in reply to him, only looked out to the coffin he was knelt beside. Her grave had yet to be filled in__,__ so they could see the coffin that her body rested in. It was a startling white with intricate black and gold detailing – almost certainly very expensive and most likely not bought by her friends, there's no way they'd be able to afford anything like it. Which left the man by her side. _

_She fell to her knees beside him and dropped her small hand from his shoulder to touch the back of his hand. _

"_It's a beautiful coffin." _

_The man beside Elena sucked in a breath and could feel him trembling slightly, although he refused to look her way__._

"_She must be very lucky to have you care for her." _

_Elijah swallowed thickly and shook his head slightly. "Why are you doing this to me?" His voice was weak and broken and Elena looked to him in time to see a single tear roll down his cheek. _

"_I watched you die. Isn't that torture enough?" _

_Elijah's voice broke and Elena watched him sadly as another tear rolled down his cheek. She gently threaded their fingers together and clasped his hand tightly, ignoring the droplets of rain that she felt fall on her skin. _

"_Why do you insist on returning to torment me?" _

"_I'm not here to hurt you, Elijah." _

_A muscle in his jaw ticked and he shook his head slightly as more tears slipped free. His hand clenched around hers and she sighed softly, resting her head on his shoulder. _

"_I'm not, I'm alive, Elijah." _

_Elena gently took hold of his jaw and turned him to face her. A shocked gasp tore from his throat at her appearance. She was wearing the same clothes that she had died in. Blood stained her shirt above her heart and blood was on her lips. _

"_I need you to help me, Elijah." _

_As he watched her, she began to cry – tears of blood. Elijah's eyes widened and he stared at her helplessly as blood poured from her eyes. _

"_You need to help me…" _

_Elena's skin greyed and crumbled before his eyes as she turned to dust. Elijah cried out in anguish as he watched Elena die for the second time. _

A scream tore from Elijah Mikaelson's throat as he shot up in his bed, gasping for air. Tears were damp on his cheeks as he panted, trying to calm himself down.

Rebekah opened his door and appeared beside him in an instant. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled her older brother against her. The blonde gently ran her hand through his short hair and softly rocked him from side to side to try and calm him down.

Kol and Klaus appeared in the doorway with ruffled hair and concerned faces. They raised an eyebrow at Rebekah and she shrugged slightly, indicating she had no idea what was wrong with their older brother either.

Elijah pulled away from his sister and ran a hand through his hair.

"Elena…I-I need to help Elena…"

His siblings stared at him pitifully and Kol shook his head softly. "Elena's gone, Elijah. She died, you watched her die."

Elijah shook his head quickly and shot to his feet. He walked to his door, glaring at his brothers when they stood in his way. Klaus held up a hand and shook his head slowly. "You can't, Elijah. _Elena is dead._"

Elijah growled and pinned his brother to the wall.

"_She is not dead!"_

Before any of his siblings could say anything, Elijah was gone, leaving the front door open behind him.

"He's finally lost it. Elijah's gone insane."

Klaus and Kol nodded in agreement as the three siblings went back to their rooms to change before they went after their brother.

**ooOoo**

Elijah's shovel hit Elena's coffin only thirteen minutes after he began digging. He dug a space to the side of it and jumped down beside the coffin.

"Elijah…"

Elijah shook his head at the sound of his sister's voice and kept his gaze on the coffin in front of him.

"She's alive, Elijah. You need to help her…"

Elijah spun at his sister's words and frowned upon seeing there was no one there.

"Help me, Elijah. Help me!"

He quickly turned back to the coffin and snapped the lock on it. There was a small moment where he hesitated before he threw open the lid and looked inside.

She was exactly how he had seen her before she was buried. Her hands folded over her stomach and her eyes closed, her features peaceful. Elena's hair was brushed away from her face and lay in soft waves around her head.

Elijah sighed softly as he began to realise just how foolishly he had acted. He placed a hand on the lid of the coffin and prepared to close it.

As he did, a gasp tore free from Elena's throat and her upper body shot upright. Elijah's hand fell from the coffin lid and his lips parted slightly in awe as he stared at her.

"Elena?"

"Elijah?" She gasped, her hand searching blindly for his as she tried to catch her breath. Elijah instantly grabbed her hand and pulled her upper body against his, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

Elena gasped for air over the shoulder that her chin was resting on as she tried to calm herself. She vaguely noticed Elijah's siblings appear behind him, but she was freaking out too much to pay them any real attention. Elijah rubbed her back softly in an attempt to calm her down as well as to try and get over the shock of having Elena alive in his arms.

Eventually, Elena calmed down and her upper body fell against his. Elijah finally remembered that she was still in her coffin and gently pulled her out before gracefully leaping from her grave and landing softly on the floor so as not to jostle her.

She remained limp and pliant in his arms and Elijah looked down at her. Her head rested against his shoulder and the arm furthest from him hung limply by her side.

"Elena? Can you stand?"

She murmured something softly in reply and Elijah let out a quiet sigh as he was unable to understand her. He gently set her on her feet anyway before slowly removing his arms from around her body.

Elena stood still for a moment before her body swayed slightly and she fell to the side. Elijah quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and stopped her from falling to the ground.

"Whoa…"

Elena let her head fall against his shoulder again and she swallowed thickly before she quietly murmured to him. "Elijah, I don't feel so good…"

He gently brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes and looked her over. Her eyes were closed, her skin was alabaster pale and her head was limp where she rested it against his body.

Elijah gently hooked an arm under her knees and manoeuvred her up into a bridal style carry. He cradled her against his body and she gingerly brought her arms up to wrap them around his neck.

"Come on, sweetheart, let's get you home..."

**~ooOoo~**

'_Elena.'_

_She gasped softly and span at the sound of his voice. Elena watched him silently for a moment, as if questioning her eyes before she gave him a small – obviously forced smile. _

'_Elijah, I was not expecting to see you…"_

_The Originals lips quirked as he smiled softly and lifted his shoulders somewhat in a small shrug. He was still wearing his tux, although his bow tie had been undone and hung loosely around his neck. His jacket button was also undone, as were the top two buttons of his dress shirt. _

"_Please, forgive the intrusion. I was merely hoping you would be more willing to tell me what happened to you tonight from the confines of your own home." _

_Elena swallowed thickly and turned away from him. She stopped in front of her vanity and reached up to remove her earrings before she began slowly removing the pins that held her long curls to the side. _

_One got stuck, tangled in an unruly curl and Elena cursed__,__ almost silently__,__ as she pulled at the pin. She heard Elijah's low chuckle behind her and suddenly felt his gentle hand cover her own and guide them away. _

"_Allow me…"_

_He gently untangled the pin from her brunette locks and placed it on the vanity, beside the other pins she had already removed. Elijah continued to softly remove the remaining pins, placing them in a small pile with the others, until there were no more left in her hair. _

_Surprising, both, Elena and himself__,__ he reached for her brush and began gently running it through her tangled locks. After a long moment, Elena let out a long breath and stared at him through the mirror. _

"_I know what you're trying to do: relax me so I'll open up." _

_Elijah looked up from where he was focused on brushing her hair and met her eyes in the reflective surface of the mirror. _

"_To be truthful with you, Elena, I have no idea why I decided to pick up this brush." _

_He smiled at her__,__ making her laugh softly before she shook her head and cast her eyes back to the vanity below her. After another few moments, Elijah carefully set the brush on Elena's vanity and ran his fingers though her hair to be sure all of the tangles were out. _

_Elena gathered up the pins and put them into a small box to keep them together. She sighed softly as she glanced at her gloves before turning to face him with a small smile. _

"_I'm sorry, where have my manners gone? Would you like some tea?" _

_Elijah smiled back at her, his eyes flicking to her still gloved hands before meeting hers again. "That would be lovely, Elena." _

_She gave him another small smile before turning and leaving her bedroom. Elijah followed her downstairs and into her kitchen. Elena filled the pot with water and put it on to boil as she grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and placed them on the countertop. She addressed Elijah without turning to face him. _

"_What would you like? I have normal, peppermint or…Nope that's it," she turned to face him and smiled apologetically, "Sorry, I really need to get some more." _

_Elijah smiled and shook his head slightly. "It's no worry, Elena, normal will be fine, thank you. Two sugars, no cream." _

_Elena smiled back at him and nodded as she began to prepare his drink. _

_Once she was done, she turned and handed him the mug of tea. He took it with a grateful smile and Elijah sat on a barstool beside the island, Elena placed her drink opposite him and moved to a cabinet in the corner of the room. She turned on the stereo, smiling to herself when Ed Sheeran's album came on. _

_Remembering she had someone with her, she lowered the volume of the stereo before she turned back to Elijah and sat opposite him, grimacing as her dress made the task more difficult. Elijah smirked slightly at her annoyed expression and she glared at him slightly. _

"_So, Elena, what exactly happened this evening?" _

_Elena sighed softly and looked away from him before taking a small sip of her drink and shaking her head. _

"_Nothing happened." _

_She heard Elijah let out a loud sigh and turned back to face him. He was watching her silently and Elena saw a muscle in his jaw jump and tick. _

"_I can hear your heartbeat, Elena. It jumps when you are being dishonest. You lied to me at the ball and you're lying to me now. Tell me the truth." _

_She shook her head and shrugged softly as she stood from her seat. _

"_Nothing happened." _

_Elena's tone was firm and Elijah blinked in slight surprise – he had just told her that he knew when she was lying and she continued to do so? _

_As she brushed past him, Elijah reached out and gently grasped her wrist, raising an eyebrow when she winced and her jaw clenched. He released her wrist instantly and stared at her in shock. _

"_Elena? Are you okay?" _

"_I'm fine!" Elena avoided his eyes and he gently took hold of her hand. _

_Elijah pulled her slightly closer to him as he stood from the barstool he had sat on. She tried to pull away from him, but Elijah kept a firm hold of her and gently removed her glove. _

_He sucked in a sharp breath at seeing the cut along her wrist and let it slowly hiss out from between clenched teeth. Elijah gently moved her arm closer as he examined the cut. A wad of tissue had been shoved over it, but the cut was still bleeding and he grimaced as he led her back to the barstool she had been sat in before. Elena half-heartedly protested as he sat her down and placed her glove on the table. _

"_First Aid kit?" _

_She glared at him, but pointed to the correct cupboard. Elijah grabbed the first aid kit and moved back to Elena. He sat on the stool beside hers and gently took hold of her arm again. Elijah took an antiseptic wipe and gently wiped over the cut. _

"_What happened?" _

_Elijah didn't remove his attention from her cut, only knowing that she was watching him intently through knowing Elena and feeling her eyes on him. _

"_Elena, you can trust me. I only wish to help you." _

_There was a long moment of silence as Elijah continued to clean the cut before he dressed it. Elena let out a soft sigh._

"_Fine, it was-it was your mother." _

_Elijah froze in his actions and Elena felt his hand tighten fractionally around her arm before he slowly loosened it. "What possible reason could my mother have to hurt you?"_

"_I-She wanted my blood for a spell. A spell to link you and your siblings together." Elijah's head shot up upon hearing her words and he looked at her, she had dropped her gaze to the cut on her wrist and refused to look at him. _

_After a moment, he finished dressing her cut and returned his attention to her. She stared at the Band-Aid and still refused to look him in the eyes. _

"_She wanted to link you all so that, if one of you dies, you all die; Finn has volunteered to be sacrificed." She reached out and laid a hand over his, and she finally looked up. "I'm so sorry, Elijah." _

_He met her eyes and quirked his lips slightly. _

"_Finn has never liked what we are, neither has my mother. And whilst that explains my mother's need for your blood, it does not explain this cut on you arm." _

_She looked away again and shrugged softly. "I refused. So she took my blood by force. It was in the champagne tonight and she threated my friends and family if I told any of you." _

_There was a moment of silence as the Original processed what she had just told him before Elijah turned his hand and took hold of Elena's, making her look up at him in surprise. _

"_I do not blame you for this, Elena, you refused to help rid my mother of myself and my family and it was your love for your own family that led you to deceive me." _

"_All the same, I still lied to you." Elena took her hand from his and stood from her stool. "I don't think I've ever regretted anything more." _

_As she walked past him, Elijah took hold of her arm and spun her back to face him. He stood from his stool and crashed his lips onto hers. Her eyes widened in surprise at the feel of his lips on her and she froze. After a few short moments, she sunk into the kiss with a blissful moan, her eyes slipped closed and she threaded her hands in his hair. _

_Suddenly, Elijah had them back in Elena's room as she began to peel his jacket from his body. Elijah began to unlace her corset and they peeled each-others clothes away and tumbled into bed together. _

_When they woke up with various limbs entangled, they decided to pretend to create a deal to gain Elena's friends help with defeating his mother. Elena agreed, but silently created her own plan to rid them of Esther, being sure to word her promises in a way that would guarantee that she never lied to him. _

**ooOoo**

Elena let out a quiet sigh and rolled over on the bed she had been on. Her eyes fluttered open and she was greeted with an anxious Elijah.

He beamed at her and let out a breathy laugh of relief upon seeing a re-awakened Elena. The Original sat up straighter and moved to the edge of his seat, softly running his fingertips over her brow to move the free hairs.

"Hey…how are you feeling?"

Elena shook her head slightly and gingerly brought a hand up to her head. She swallowed and frowned at Elijah.

"My head huts."

Elena flopped back to lie on her back and groaned, staring up at the ceiling. She heard Elijah stifle a small chuckle and turned her head to glare at him. He sobered up instantly and looked at her apologetically.

"Forgive me, it is not my intention to laugh at you."

Elena sighed softly and sat up, Elijah lending a helping hand as her sore muscles protested to the movement. She gave him a grateful smile as she brought a hand up to brush her hair behind her ear. A flash of color caught her eye and she looked at her hands, grimacing at the color of her nails. They were a pale yellow and she glared at the color, beginning to pick the polish off.

"Who the hell did these?"

Elijah frowned in confusion and Elena huffed, holding up her hands so that he could see her nails. "These. Who the hell picked yellow? It makes my nails look mouldy." She wrinkled her nose in disgust and distaste, making Elijah smile softly as she placed her nails back in her lap and continued picking the polish off.

"I do believe that was your friends. Or, more specifically, Miss Forbes. She mentioned something about them matching your outfit," he paused as he saw Elena roll her eyes and grinned at her, "Although, to be fair to her, they did look much better when you were…" Elijah trailed off and Elena sighed softly as his eyes dropped from her.

"When I was dead?"

Elijah looked up at her sharply with wide eyes and she shrugged softly.

"I died, Elijah, you can say it. It's fine."

"No, Elena, it's not!"

Elijah's voice was sharp and raised and Elena looked at him in shock. He'd never lost his temper with her before, not even when she was telling him what his mother had done to them. Elijah let out a quiet sigh and touched the back of her hand apologetically.

"I watched you-I had to watch you kill yourself, Elena. How can you say that's fine?"

Elena shrugged softly, although her expression was slightly apologetic.

"I am sorry that you had to see it, but I am not sorry for what I did. Besides, I'm alive now, it doesn't matter. Even if she never said it'd hurt this much."

Elena grimaced and brought a hand to her head, rubbing her brow softly. Elijah frowned at her.

"Who, Elena?"

She shrugged slightly, continuing to blindly scratch off the polish. "She said her name was Ayanna, she was there after I died. Apparently, because your blood was on the dagger I used, she offered me a choice. Die, for good, or come back, as a vampire." She dropped her eyes from him and focused back on her hands.

Elijah's lips parted slightly and he fell back into his chair – his spine losing its stiff posture in his shock.

"You're in transition…"

**ooOoo**

_Seven years later…_

**ooOoo**

Elena was so deep in thought that she didn't hear Elijah walk up behind her. And she barely noticed his arms wrap around her waist, so she jumped when she felt him rest his chin on her shoulder and lightly kiss her neck. She felt his lips curve into a small smile on her skin.

"Sorry, I did not realize you were so deep in thought that you would not notice me."

Elena smiled to herself and placed one of her small hands over his as she leant back, into his touch.

"It's okay. I normally hear you, I just lost myself for a moment."

She felt Elijah's breath against her neck as he exhaled softly and his hands rubbed her stomach softly.

"Anything I should be worried about?"

Elena shook her head softly and smiled to herself. "Nothing. I was just thinking about everyone I left behind. Thinking about where there are now, what they're doing, if they're happy."

After Elena had told Elijah about Ayanna, she had transitioned. Elijah had helped her with adjusting to the change. He had gotten her a daylight ring and had taken her to Belarus. After she had finally managed to grasp hold of her control – three and a half months after her transition – it had taken her almost another year and a half to reach a level of control similar to that of Elijah's. During that time, she had slipped four times, killing two of the people she had attacked. And both times, despite Elena blaming him for her failure, Elijah had stuck by her until she had gotten over the guilt of what she had done.

Once she had gained some basic control over her urges, Elijah had slowly helped her fine tune it. He had taught her how to control her raging emotions, mainly by annoying her himself. Remarkably, he had infuriated her so thoroughly one time that she had managed to break his neck.

By the time he had woken up, he had found Elena sobbing in the corner – curled into a small ball with her arms wrapped around her legs and her face buried in her knees. Elijah had gently taken her in his arms and had helped her calm down, casually dismissing her apologies.

Once he had finally managed to help her control her emotions, Elijah had showed her how to stop her vampire features from taking over when she was angered or upset. She had gradually gained complete control over her new self and it very rarely slipped.

After she had herself under control, she and Elijah had finally began to go out more often. He had taken her to many different countries over the years and – despite what had happened before her transition – they had grown into the best of friends.

Eventually, they had given in to their urges for each other for the first time since that one night years before. The only reason they had given in was because a man had propositioned Elena, Elijah had claimed her as his with a sound kiss on the lips and that night had turned into a blur of passion.

But, even though Elijah had helped her greatly, there had still been a hole in her heart that could only be filled by the friends she had left behind, leaving them with the belief that she was dead.

"You miss them."

It wasn't a question, but Elena shrugged - answering him all the same. She sighed softly and rubbed her hand over the backs of his hands, which were resting on her stomach.

"They were my friends, Lijah, some of them for as long as I can remember. Of course I miss them."

Even without seeing him, Elena knew what he was thinking and she sighed softly, loosening his arms around her so that she could turn to face him. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head at him.

"But, just because I miss them, it doesn't mean that I love you any less."

Elijah quirked his lips softly and ran one of his hands up the length of her spine as he sighed softly, shaking his head slightly. "Even so, I do not wish to deprive you of your friends. You shouldn't have to be tethered to me alone."

Elena shook her head slightly and tightened her arms around him. "I don't feel like I _have_ to be with you alone. I like it being just the two of us here."

Elijah smiled softly and placed a hand on Elena's cheek. "So do I."

He slowly lowered his lips to Elena's and cupped her cheek as he gently kissed her. She smiled against his lips and her arms tightened around his neck.

Elijah pulled back slightly, pecking her lips softly once more before speaking against them.

"I love you, Elena."

She smiled softly and kissed him quickly.

"I love you too, Elijah. Always and forever."

Elijah beamed at her and brought both hands to the sides of her face, holding them gently.

"Always and forever."

Their lips met again and they smiled against each other's mouths as they sealed their promises with a kiss.

**~~ooOoo~~**

.~.Fin.~.


End file.
